Vol. 212 May 1, 2019 MMR Vaccination Updated and DTaP Explained

YET ANOTHER STUDY PROVES THAT MEASLES VACCINE DOES NOT CAUSE AUTISMAn eleven year study of 657,000 Danish children showed that those who received the MMR vaccine had no increased incidence of autism. In fact, the girls who received the vaccine had a 5% reduction in their risk for autism. In Denmark all vaccinations are free of charge and voluntary. When 95% of children in a community are vaccinated against measles the 5% of unvaccinated children are protected through “herd-immunity” due to the reduction of exposure to the highly contagious measles virus.

Measles was declared “eradicated” in 2000. Since then we have had unexpected U.S. measles outbreaks in 2014 and presently we are breaking all records for new cases (78 cases just this very week). Since January 1, 2019 the U.S. has had 465 cases in 19 states. Recent U.S. measles outbreaks in Brooklyn, NY, Portland, Oregon, and Rockland County, NY were caused by unvaccinated visitors to an annual Jewish pilgrimage in the Ukraine returning to their unvaccinated orthodox Jewish communities in the U.S.

Surrounded by states with nearly 700 new measles cases Dayton, Ohio is voicing concern about a measles outbreak in their city. Of the 9 counties in Ohio 8 have measles vaccination rates between 90 – 93%. Montgomery County, Dayton is the county seat, has a rate of only 88%. Remembering that herd immunity is achieved at 95%, Ohio, which requires proof of vaccination within 14 days of school attendance, is considering rewriting their current reasons for exemption (about 9% in Montgomery County) of “religious, medical, or reasons of conscience.”

THERE IS NO HERD-IMMUNITY FOR TETANUSThe “T” in the DTaP vaccine stands for tetanus. Tetanus is not a contagious disease like measles. It is caused by wound contamination with a bacteria that causes intense, painful muscle spasms, clenched jaw (“lockjaw”), and extremely unstable vital signs. The tetanus vaccine is the only protection against tetanus. It is rare because most children receive the tetanus vaccine. Oregon in 2017 reported its first case of tetanus in thirty years. An unvaccinated 6 year old sustained a cut on his forehead while playing on a farm and developed tetanus. His 2 month hospitalization cost $800,000. The total bill for his care including rehab services and transportation exceeded $1 million. Upon discharge the parents continued to refuse any immunizations for him including a tetanus vaccine booster to complete their child’s protection!

PERTUSSIS (“WHOOPING COUGH”) OUTBREAKS HAPPEN IN THE SPRINGThe “P” in DTaP immunization stands for pertussis and the standard recommendation is to get 4 DTaPs before age 18 months ,starting at 2 months, with a booster at 6 years and as a teenager. Our periodic pertussis outbreaks can not be blamed wholly on anti-vaxxers who refuse immunizations because the pertussis vaccine is not as effective as other vaccines in maintaining protection; the immunity created by the vaccine wanes over time. The little “a” in front of the “P” stands for “acellular”. The acellular vaccine has less of the side effects of injection site pain, temporary fatigue, and a fever than the earlier vaccine that contained cells of the bacteria. But, this newer vaccine (introduced in the late 1990s) produces a smaller increase in and a shorter duration of immunity. “P” vaccinated people can get pertussis, but unvaccinated children and adults are 8 times more likely to get pertussis.

Pertussis immunization is now recommended for all pregnant women since protective antibodies pass through the placenta to the unborn child affording protection to the infant in the first months of life. Pertussis can be diagnosed in some one with a persistent cough by a simple nasal swab done in the office, and it can be treated effectively with antibiotics.

WHAT ABOUT THE “D” IN DTaP?Diphtheria is a bacterial disease with a terrible sore throat. When severe it can form a membrane in your throat that blocks off your air and sometimes it produces a toxin that attacks the heart, causing death.In 1921 the U.S. had 206,00 cases of diphtheria with 15,420 deaths.The diphtheria vaccine is so effective that such cases are extremely rare in the U.S. Herd immunity is important in diphtheria. The CDC estimates that 94% of kindergarten pupils in U.S. are immunized against it. The Soviet Union, India, and Yemen remain areas with large numbers of diphtheria cases.

“Good ole” Montgomery County, Ohio had one of the last reported U.S. diphtheria cases; a teen age girl with a bad sore throat in 2014. That rare event got lots of press coverage which might be why Montgomery County is a particularly skittish about a possible measles outbreak in 2019.

Diphtheria can be treated effectively with antibiotics and anti-toxins. Any contacts of the person with diphtheria can also be treated to prevent spread of the disease. A simple skin test (Schick test) identifies people with no immunity to diphtheria, so efforts to control its spread can be highly targeted.

MY MODEST PROPOSAL MAY NOT BE THAT “FAR OUT”My previous blog suggesting that one way to change the behavior of anti-vaxxers would be to sue the parents of an unvaccinated child for neglect to recover the cost of the medical treatment, loss of wages of caretakers, loss of school performance, continued rehabilitation of complications, etc. of any person who then got measles from the unvaccinated case. Perhaps that might send an effective message to anti-vaxxers of a personal financial risk where scientific data holds no sway. What if the parents of the Oregon tetanus-afflicted child were sued by tax payers in Oregon to “recover” the medical care costs of nearly a million dollars presumably borne by Oregon’s tax payers?